On Thursday 15th January, Krishna Avanti Primary School’s football team, the Krishna Avanti Lions, played their inaugural match against Deansbrook of Edgware.

Year 6 pupil and Lions player Dhru Thaker reports

It was a 9-a-side match played on Krishna Avanti’s astroturf pitch. They had a squad of 15 boys managed by Harsh Mandavia. Each half was 20 minutes long with a 3 minute half time. The Lions played a 3-2-2-1 formation with Devesh, (affectionately known by his teammates as Devesh Neuer for his keeping heroics) in goal. The defence consisted of Raam, Hrishi and Ghanashyam, the defensive midfield contained Dhruv and Gauranga, on the wings there was Dev and Hari G and the lone striker was Vinay.

The Lions kicked off and started quite slowly with a few short attacks but Deansbrook dominated possession. In the 13th minute, Deansbrook lost the ball and the Lions quickly took advantage. They carried the ball up the pitch weaving in and out of players through superb skills and passes. In the box, Dhruv was ready to pounce and comfortably slot it in the back of the net. Lions 1, Deansbrook 0! Deansbrook had one other shot in the half that was heading straight for the top corner but Devesh launched up to keep the Lions ahead. The half time whistle was blown and each team huddled up to talk tactics.

Each team made a steady start with some flowing passes but nothing major occurred. Some sloppy clearances by Deansbrook led to the Lions getting up the pitch but a strong defence dealt with it. Ten minutes through the half, a lob ball flew across the pitch and dropped into the hands of the keeper. Striker Dhru, pressured the Deansbrook keeper into rushing his goal kick and the ball fell to Udit who easily played it to Dhruv who wrapped up the night with his second finish of the evening.

The Lions dominated the end of the match. All the fans were waiting for the final whistle with anticipation and then there it was. The final score. Lions 2, Deansbrook 0. Dhruv was named Man of the Match and the Lions celebrated their first win – a very well deserved one.